Monday, December 15, 2008

Menzies, Theus

Reggie Theus was fired and Marvin Menzies' stock seems to be on the rise. Wow, things sure can change in a year.

First off, on the Theus firing. The Kings are awful. They will be no better without him. He did a good job getting them 30-something wins last season. I think his ego got in the way a little bit and rubbed some people the wrong way. But they are not a good NBA team. And he will get himself a new job in the near future, whether it be as an assistant in the NBA or a head gig in the college game. I cannot see him returning immediately as an NBA head coach and I don't know if he'll get a primetime college gig right now either. He might have to settle for another NMSU - a mid-major program looking to get a big name hire. We'll see.

As for Menzies, we have to give him some credit here. His team is improving. I don't want to go hog wild just because they beat an overrated UTEP team here on Saturday. If they didn't win that game after the display by the Miners, it would have been discouraging. They go down there this Saturday and that will be another huge test. As will the games vs. the Lobos and conference play. So far though, Menzies seems to be earning the admiration of the fans.

Lets go through some of the players he has brought in since he came on board. Wendell McKines is playing great basketball. The two centers, the jury is still out. They're both 7 feet and hopefully can develop there games in the coming years. Hernst Laroche has been steady. Gillenwater seems to have talent.

Jahmar Young and Jonathan Gibson, the team's two go-to scorers, are not Menzies guys. Still, he has guided Jahmar through up and down times in the young player's college career. I think he gets frustrated with Jonathan's play here and there. Jonathan is a tantalizing player, who can make you yell, shake your head and cheer, all in the same play. He's wild.

The bottom line is that Menzies' stock is on the rise. While it is positive thus far, I would guard against getting too ahead of ourselves. It was one win over a rival. Lets hold all reservations until after the Lobo games. We gotta see how things unravel over the long haul.

As for Theus, again, the Kings are terrible. He didn't do a poor job in Sacramento. One thing for certain is that NBA teams love firing coaches.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Kings management made an awful decision, and I say that not as an Reggie Theus fan. He even said after they traded away Mike Bibby and Ron Artest that management must realize that the team needs time to GROW. Their impatience is what is going to doom their franchise for the next 5 years. Reggie will be fine. Rumor has it that the UofA has been keeping their eye on him since the Aggies played Arizona two years, and also is the reason their first choice of interim coach turned it down. So, hopefully that will work out because Reggie would be great for Arizona.

Menzies is doing a good job so far this season, but there is still a lot of season left.

Go Aggies

Anonymous said...

I said when Reggie left that all he needed to be succesful was for the Kings to trade for Kobe. It was a bad team then, and still is today. But unlike a lot of people I didn't fault the guy for chasing his dream.

As for the team and Menzies, I am excited, but I will hold judgement until the loobs series, or at the very least this saturday when the team travels to El Paso. Im still waiting to see them win their first road game. I think that they should have had two wins on the road.

One last note, we'll never know what Herb Pope would have done if Reggie had stayed, but he and Menzies never seemed to be on the same page, so maybe his departure is partially on him.

Anonymous said...

Ultimately, it was good Theus left the Aggies. His head was too big to fit in the Pan Am center and he would have been gone the following year anyway. I, for one, am glad he left NMSU.

Pope, I am glad he is gone as well. Too much not-so-good with him. He would have been too hard on team unity would be my guess.

The current Aggie team has the makings of somethng special. If we had a center who was ready to play now, we'd be the conference champions. I think Menzies is doing well.

Anonymous said...

This is a little off topic, but how good is this Joyner kid who should be playing soon.

I don't know about everyone else, but the point guard from Canada is really showing his stuff. He's certainly plays within himself and works well at the poing guard spot.

Anonymous said...

That Laroche kid is going to be a heck of a floor general soon!
He did a good job on Sunday but, needs to that every night.

The big guys are pretty raw. They need to get better every night.

This team is starting to play like a team!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely great game on sunday...great 2-3 zone, very active obviously gave UTEP problems..Jackson and Culpepper couldnt buy a basket in the first half..got the majority of points at the end when it didnt matter. I have not been the greatest Menzies fan but he did gain some points..winning cures all for now..let's see how they do on the road..some say road games define the team. Great job Aggies..Good Luck in El Paso..Teddy is the game on COMCAST?

Anonymous said...

Not a Menzies Fan?
just curious, but why?

Anonymous said...

It still baffles me that Theus gets bad pub from certain Aggie fans/alums. What he did during his short time at NMSU was remarkable. Yes, he had a HUGE ego. But the upside with him was substantial. I'm hopeful MM can do well too. Not making post season last year was disappointing. If he makes the post season this year, I'll be surprised. He needs to win road games, especially come WAC play. Go Aggies!!
-Aggie Glare

Anonymous said...

If anyone recalls,Reggie said after the 2006-7 season that he could see himself being at NMSU as a long term coach-and then ,out of the blue,off to the Sacramento Kings-tha's why a lot of Aggie faithful are a little bit sour on Reggie-rumor mill says that the Arizona Wildcats are interested in Reggie Theus as a head coach to replace the retired Lute Olsen.-Az Aggie

Anonymous said...

Hey Glare...Do you really think putting a band aid on a bullet wound is REMARKABLE! Just a quick fix is what Reggie was. Please keep it in perspective. Forget his ego that's not important. What about the APR, Not to mention the departure of certain stud scholar athletes (which will end up being our benefit in the long run). You always kill menzies because he miss the tourney. I would have love to make the dance also but I do think Menzies is committed to the program cause. Who knows he may be another Reggie-two and out only time will tell. I hear good things about him and if he doesnt bench Gibson vs LBSU they win that one, then who knows what happens at North Texas, probably was the right thing to do for the big picture though. They could be 7-2 with the two losses coming to top 25 teams, need I mention 1 Junior and the rest Freshmen and sophomores. Relax all is well in Cruces. Patience is a virtue! Our young Aggies will be fine. Have you seen these kids in person? I think they are impressive!

Beat the Miners!!!!